Spring Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

Dozens of new funded opportunities from March to May 2026.

Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

Most writers underestimate how much funding is actually available to them. Grants for manuscripts in progress, bursaries for writing courses you can’t afford, fellowships that cover living expenses while you write — these opportunities exist, and more of you are eligible than you’d think.​

Organizations are actively looking to fund writers at all career stages, including those who are underrepresented, early-career, or simply stretching their budgets too thin.​

This edition shares with you carefully vetted opportunities across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide, all with deadlines concentrated between now and May 2026.​

Whether you’re completing a manuscript, launching into a new genre, or finally taking that course you’ve been eyeing, there’s likely funding here for you. You just need to know where to look.

The full collection with links, deadlines, and application details is available below for paid subscribers.

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Writing Grants, Bursaries & Fellowships

New writing grants, bursaries & fellowships in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom & worldwide, with submission dates from March to May 2026.

UNITED STATES & CANADA

BINC Susan Kamil Emerging Writers Prize
Two grants of $10,000 each are awarded to unpublished writers working on a full-length manuscript, graphic novel, or book-length comic who are currently employed at a physical bookstore or comic shop in the US. Applicants must be 18 or over with at least three months of continuous employment at the store, and submit a six-page writing sample, project overview, and a letter of recommendation. Writers who have already published a full-length work are not eligible.
Applications open: March 25th, 2026.

Retraction Watch Research Accountability Reporting Fellowship
A new six-month fellowship from Retraction Watch and The Open Notebook, funded by the Center for Scientific Integrity, supporting up to six US-based local and regional journalists in reporting stories of scientific integrity at research universities or institutions in their coverage area. Selected newsrooms receive $7,500 to support the reporting project, alongside one-to-one mentorship from Retraction Watch staff and a series of virtual trainings on scientific accountability reporting. Open to reporters and editors working on staff or freelancing for a local or regional media outlet. Applications open March 26th, 2026.
Deadline: Rolling (from March 26th, 2026).

A Public Space Writing Fellowships
Three six-month fellowships for emerging fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writers who have not yet published or contracted a book-length work with a US publisher. Each fellow receives a $1,000 honorarium, editorial support to prepare a piece for publication in the magazine, a one-year subscription, and access to Master Classes and public readings. International applicants are welcome, but submissions must be in English.
Deadline: March 31st, 2026.

Silvers Grants for Work in Progress
The Robert B. Silvers Foundation offers grants of up to $10,000 to Anglophone writers of any nationality working on long-form writing in literary criticism, arts writing, political analysis, and/or social reportage. Applicants must have a publishing agreement in place for the work. Applications require a CV, one-page project description, financial questionnaire, and a 500–2,000 word writing sample. Priority given to projects not supported by a significant advance.
Deadline: March 31st, 2026.

Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers
This three-month residential fellowship (September to December 2026) affords writers uninterrupted time to work at Carson McCullers’s childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. The fellow receives a $5,000 stipend to cover transportation, food, and incidentals, and is encouraged to engage informally with students and local residents interested in writing. Open to all writers; applications require a cover letter, CV, writing sample of up to 20 pages, and two letters of recommendation.
Deadline: April 1st, 2026.